Improvement in machine toe folding sheet metal



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IMPROVEMENT IN MAGHINEIOE. FOLDING SHEET METAL.

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T0 ALL WHOM IT MAY'CONCERN :v .n

Be it known that I, LEROY A; GLEASON, of Southington, in the county-ofHartford, andI State of Connecticut, have invented a new and improvedFolding-Machine; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others'skilledin the art to make and use the same,

reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming partot'fthisspecification, in which-n Figure 1 is a plan or top view ofmyimprovedfolding-machine,"partly in section.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same. I Figure 3 is an end elevationof the same. A A Figure 4 is' a sectional elevation of the same, the.plane'of section beingindicated by theline :c z, iig. 2.

Figure 5 is a similar view, the plane of sectionfbeing indicatedby theline y yig. 2.,'

Figure is a similar view, the plane of section being indicated by thelinez z, iig. 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts. 'l Y l l Thisinvention relates to machines forfolding sheet metal,fand consists in.the combination'of the hinged frame, foldinglbars, and a rock-shaft,provided with cams operating upon the upright arms 'of `the movable.

folding-bar, by which' the latter isadvanoed toward'or withdrawn fromthe stationaryfolding-bar for the purpose of making a Vsharp or roundbevel; and it consists, further, of the arrangement of the movablefolding-bar hinged to the bed-plate by suitable arms, having rollerswhich press upon the cams of the rock-shaft, and hinged frame supportinguprights, which connect with the plate forclamping the metal to befolded, as will be'herein" after more fully described,

A represents a bed-plate, which is made of 'cast iron, or'of any othersuitable material, and upon whiclrgallz.

the other parts of this machine are arranged. At eithervend of the plateis arranged'a post, B, as shown,'whioh supports thepins a ofthefolding-bar C, proper bearings being arranged in the'posts B for thepinsato revolvex This bar is, as shown in tigs. 4, 5, and 6, providedwith a sharp turningfedge, which coincides with the centre ofthe pins a,so that as the bar is turned, by means oi' a lever, b, into thepositions indicatedin figs. 5 and 6,

the folding-edge-of it will never change its position. vAt'the ends ofthe bar C, between it and the pins a a, are arranged disks, c @againstwhich the friction-rollers d d, which are arranged on a hinged frame, D,press.

This hinged frame consists of two elbow-arms, d which are pivoted to thebed-plate A, as shown, and which areE connected by a rod, d, which turnsfree in its bearingsin d. To' two pins, which project from the rod 11",?are hingedtwo upright rods, e e,'which are, by means of screws orotherwise, secured to the plate E, as is shown more particularly in fig.4. 'This plate Eis secured to the horizontal rear bar F of thestationary folding-bar F, by means of three or more screws, f, orotherwise, in such a manner that itvmay have a little playup and downwith the bar F. The disks e e are provided each with a. small recess,shown more particularly in g. 3,

and this recess tits over the friction-roller d, as seen, while the barG is down, or in position shown in iigs. 3

and 4, that is, when the machine is ready to receive the sheet metal forfolding.'v The metal (shown in red lines in figs. 4, 5, and 6,) is.placed between the front cdge'of the plate E and the upper edge of thebal` F (seetig. 4,) into the machine. l As soon as, by means of 'thelever, thefolder C is turned, the recess inthe disk c is moved awayfromthe friction-roller d,'and the full periphery o f the disk, coming incontact with the same, presses the friction-roller, and consequentlyalso the rod el down. -The latter being connected by means'of the rods ewith the plate E, the said plate is also pulled down as soon as b isturned, and thus the metal between E and F is iirmly clamped and held.As soon as the folder C is in the position indicated iny fig. 6, thefold is completed and the lever b brought back into the position showniniigs. 3 and 4, when the recess in cwill again come over d, and theplate E will then be raised by means of a pin, f', on Aeach disk, (iig.1,) so as to release the sheet. An adjustable feed is also provided toarrange the length oi' the overlap, that is, to regulate how far themetal can be inserted in the stationary folder. This feed consists of atoothed bar, G, whichis moved forward or backward at will by'a.set-screw, g. This bar G is hinged to another bar, g', the latterVbein-g operated directly by the set-screw.

The bar y is guided at the ends by means of rods g which arepivoted tothe front plate of F, as shown more particularly in iig. 5. The teeth inthe bar g iit into recesses in thefront bar F of the folder F, as shownin iig. 1, in such a manner that they'always rest upon F', andthe bar-Gis always thrown up by means of a spring h,ig. 5, so that the uppersurface ofthe teeth may rest against the pla-te E. Thus, by moving theYset-screw g forward or backward, a. smaller or larger fold is e'ected.The front plate F of the stationary folder F is, by means of two or morearms z', in front, pivoted to two or more uprights i', which arearranged on the plate A 'At the rear it is also provided with two arms,K, to the lower ends of which are arranged. friotion-rollers K', j

while to their upper end is pivoted the horizontal plate Fll of thefolder F, to which the plate E isseoured, the aforesaid up-and-downmovement of the said plate being permitted by these pivots. Thefriction-rollers K rest upon cams l, which are secured to the ends of ahorizontal shaft, H, as seen iu the drawings. By vmeans 4of a handle, m,this shaft can be turned, and thus the Whole folder F and all itsappendages are thrown more or less 4 forward the more the cams raise therear. end'o'f the arms K, the whole folder F, in this case, turning onthe pins 2', by which`it is pivotedin front. When the handle 'miis beingturned down, it is evident that the rod d must be turned on account ofits connection, e, with the folder F. For this purpose a pin, n, on theshaft H, presses upon the end of an arm, o, which is secured to the rodd, and so th'e rod is turned as much as necessary to let the rods e comedown suciently. The rods e, when the folder F is turned up by theeceentrics, pull the rod d around suiciently without using anyotherdevice for the purpose. .The nearertho folder F is brought to thefolding-edge of the folder C, the sharperwill bethe turn inthe bentmetal, aud the further ofi', the more round will be the turn.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. lThe combination of the folding-bars F G, diskv c e', frame D, rod H,cams l, and arms K, operating as described, for the .purpose of making around or sharp bend, substantially as herein set forth. v

2. The combination of the folding-bar F, hinged arms K, hinged frame D,upright rods c, secured to the plate E, rod H, cams Z, and arm o, alloperating as described, for the purpose of clamping the metal to befolded, as and for the purpose specified.

' LEROY A.` GLEASON.

Witnesses:

JOEL WOODRUFF, WALTER E. Summa.

